Toy construction system

ABSTRACT

A toy construction system is designed based round a generally square piece having ball ( 32 ) and socket ( 34 ) connection components on its edges. In addition, its centre has a further socket connection component ( 35 ) enabling the pieces to be assembled together to form a variety of three-dimensional structures of special interest to the user, by clicking ball and socket connection components together, relying on the resilience of the material of which the pieces are made.

This invention relates to toy construction systems and particularly to those employing a plurality of individual construction pieces which may be fitted together by way of ball and socket joints.

A wide variety of toy construction systems has been developed and successfully commercialised. In particular, various toy construction systems are available on the market which use a variety of moulded plastics pieces which are configured to fit or clip together to form structures. The most widely known of these is sold under the trade mark Lego, but various other systems are available in commerce. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,301,747-B discloses a variety of construction system with a variety of pieces which is commercially available under the trade mark CLICS.

EP-A-0900112 discloses a construction system consisting of a plurality of short rod-like members with a ball or socket on each end. These have been successfully commercialised under the trade mark ZOOB.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,769,681 discloses toy construction systems consisting of a plurality of rod members and connector members, the latter being preferably flat. The connector members have a plurality of balls or sockets about their periphery, usually at the corners, and may have a socket located in their centre. The use of only one form of connector member (ball or socket) about the periphery of the connector members is restrictive.

In the present description and in the claims below, the term ball and socket joint refers to a joint formed by the insertion of a projection having a part-spherical surface into a socket having an inner concave part-spherical wall, with the resilience of the material of which the projection and the socket are made being sufficient to allow the joint to be made and unmade, and with the diameter of the hemispherical surface on each of projection and socket being substantially identical. The necessary resilience may be achieved by the use of appropriate material for the components, as well as by the geometrical arrangement and extent of the part-spherical surfaces. In this respect, it should be noted that a preferred projection shape for use in the present invention is that of a generally spherical head set on a post projecting from a construction piece, with a particularly preferred shape having the spherical head relieved about a circular equatorial region lying in a plane perpendicular to the direction of extension of the post. A preferred socket shape is a pair of spaced apart tabs extending in parallel planes from a construction piece and having part-spherical depressions in their facing surfaces.

According to the present invention, there is provided a toy construction system including a plurality of pieces which may be interlinked one with another by way of ball and socket joints as defined above, at least some of the pieces being generally flat and having both ball and socket connection components around their periphery, and comprising a matching socket component located substantially centrally of the piece.

Such pieces are preferably square, oblong or round and the ball and socket connection components are preferably located halfway along the sides, or evenly distributed about the periphery of the piece.

The distance of the centre of rotation of the ball within the socket from the edges of the pieces may be varied. It should be no less than half the thickness of the piece in order to enable a ball to be engaged in the socket in the centre of another piece. However, it is preferred that the distance is slightly greater so that when the ball of one piece is inserted into the socket in the centre of another piece, the inserted piece may rotate about an axis in the plane of the piece into which it is inserted by a small amount, usually at most 15°, but preferably at least 5°. Alternatively, the centre sockets may include a wall around the socket components which is relieved to receive the edge of another piece and allow such a degree of rotation.

In a particularly preferred arrangement, the ball-receiving socket in the centre of the piece may also receive a ball-receiving socket from another piece. In other words, the socket component in the centre of a piece is set in an aperture sufficiently large to accommodate an assembled ball and socket joint formed between two other pieces. In order to facilitate this, the socket components are preferably formed of two facing tabs having concave depressions in their facing surfaces, to receive the ball components, and a flat surface on their outer sides.

This particular combination, with the limited degree of angular movement indicated just above, enables the production of stable gently curved “chains” of interconnected pieces which may form part of a structure, for example, a ring or arch, which is substantially larger than the size of the individual pieces, but which is nevertheless easy to construct and relatively rigid. Accordingly the system enables the child to make structures of substantial spacial interest.

Toy construction systems according to the present invention may include other construction pieces with at least one ball and/or socket component on them which may be used together with the aforementioned pieces as desired. These may take a very wide variety of forms, for example rods, wheels, base plates or wall plates, as well as ones where instead of being generally square, oblong or circular, the overall shape is triangular or polygonal. Large constructional pieces in particular may include several apertures which are of sufficient size to accommodate an assembled ball and socket joint linking two other pieces, located to each side of the apertured piece.

A further type of piece for use in toy construction systems may be in the form of a block rather than a generally flat plate or a rod. The blocks may have one or balls protruding from them, one or more sockets in one or more faces, or both. In each case the balls and socket components are sized to fit the other ball and socket components in the other pieces of the entire construction system. Other construction pieces may be representational, for example human or animal figures having a ball or socket connection component so that they may be attached to a structure made using the construction system according to the invention, or be in the form of additional components, such as wheels, feet or rings. Even more complex accessories may be envisaged, for example a peg board structure including ball and/or socket connectors on to which one or more pieces may be fixed. The peg board structure may be of simple fixed construction type or, for example, it may have one or more sections movable with respect to others, for example one section being slidable with respect to the remainder of the board.

In the commercial production of toy construction systems in accordance with the invention, an appropriate balance should be struck between relatively few different types of pieces giving simplicity of approach, but including sufficient different types of piece to provide stimulating constructional play for the intended age group.

The pieces of the toy construction system in accordance with the present invention are preferably made of appropriate plastics materials. By the use of appropriate plastics and careful design, the ball and socket joints may be made so that they can be snap fitted together or pulled apart without using too much force, but where the degree of force needed to pull them apart is not so little that constructions made with them tend to fall apart too easily.

Although toy construction systems according to the present invention are predominantly directed to providing sets of pieces which are assembled together, and where the resulting construction may have few, if any, moving parts, it is possible to include in such sets appropriate pieces which enable the construction of structures having several moving parts, and these may even be driven by appropriate motor and gearing apparatus if desired. Using the underlying ball and socket structure as described above enables a wide range of possibilities to be explored.

The present invention is illustrated by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective line drawing of a first embodiment of a construction piece forming part of a toy construction system in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective line drawing of a second embodiment of a construction piece forming part of a toy construction system according to the invention;

FIG. 3 is a drawing showing seven construction pieces assembled together;

FIGS. 4, 5, 6 and 7 are perspective views of respectively a chair, an arch, a tower, and a ring made using a plurality of the pieces shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 8 is a perspective line drawing of an oblong construction piece for use as a base board;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an oblong construction piece having two socket components;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of three alternative constructions of rod member;

FIGS. 11 to 15 are perspective views of construction pieces not having a central socket component, and

FIGS. 16 to 18 show three circular construction pieces which may be used with the pieces shown in FIGS. 2 and 8 to 15 to form a complete construction set providing a wide range of construction opportunities.

The construction piece shown in FIG. 1 consists of a square frame 1 having an inner transverse web 2 supporting a central socket component 3. On two opposite sides of frame 1 project balls 4 and 5 while on the other two opposed sides project the two arms of socket components 6 and 7. Each of balls 4 and 5 is split to enable it to be slightly compressed as it is inserted into a socket component 6 or 7 in another piece. Insertion is facilitated by relieved sections 9.

The central socket component 3 consists of a centre section having a pair of opposed concave spherical spaces 8 between which a ball 4 or 5 from another piece may be held captive. To either side of that pair of opposed concave spherical sections 8 are channels 12 and 13 which are dimensioned so that they may receive the members constituting a socket component 6 or 7 from another piece. That socket component 6 or 7 engages with the same ball as is engaged between the two concave faces 8, so simply enabling three of the pieces to be held together.

Each piece is made of resilient plastics material, integrally moulded.

FIG. 2 shows a piece analogous to that shown in FIG. 1, but in which the balls, in place of the relieved spherical projections 4, 5, consist of a projection having a post 30 extending from a square base 31 and carrying a spherical head 32 of which the central equatorial region has been flattened to form a cylindrical surface 33. Mounted on the sides of base 31 which do not carry the balls are sockets 34 of construction as in FIG. 1, sockets 6 and 7.

The piece shown in FIG. 2 has a central socket component 35 set in an elongate aperture 36 analogously to socket component 8 in FIG. 1. In an alternative, the elongation of the aperture 36 may be oriented (relative to the ball and socket portions on the edge of the piece) so that it lies in the direction of a line linking the two posts 30 on opposite sides of the piece.

As in FIG. 1, the central socket component 35 has two facing part hemispherical concave walls 38, each on a crooked tab 39, the shaping being such as to allow part of a socket component 34 of another such piece to be inserted into aperture 36, and engage over a spherical head 32 of a third such piece. When so engaged, the side walls of the second and third piece lie across a wall 37 surrounding aperture 36. The top of the wall is relieved by a shallow W-shaped lowering, so enabling rotation of the inserted piece about the axis joining heads 32 by a small amount, e.g. 15°.

Because of the central socket components and the way in which balls and sockets are set on the exterior periphery of each piece, pieces may be fitted together with their planes at right angles to one another, for example as shown in FIG. 3 where a chain of three links denoted 49, 50 and 51 has one of them turned with respect to the other, and the central link 50 has a pair of opposed pieces 52, 53 inserted into its central socket. Additional pieces 54 and 55 in the form of an apertured square and a rod member including a plurality of socket components are attached to pieces 49 and 51.

By assembling various pieces together as shown in principle in FIG. 3, a variety of structures may be easily made. Thus, FIG. 4 shows a chair made of 6, FIG. 5 an arch made of 16; a tower likewise made of 23 pieces is shown in FIG. 6 and a ring made of 24 is shown in FIG. 7.

FIGS. 8 to 18 show various forms of constructional pieces which may be collected together in different numbers to form a construction set.

FIG. 8 shows a base plate which has twenty four balls and sockets set round its periphery and twenty four socket components in its central web. FIG. 9 shows a piece of analogous construction to that shown in FIG. 2, but where the piece is generally oblong and has two sockets 60, 61 set in its central portion and three socket portions 62 and one ball 63 on its periphery.

FIG. 10 shows three forms of rods useful in a construction system in accordance with the present invention, that on the left having a ball at each end and that on the right a socket component at each end. Each has two socket components intermediate its ends.

FIGS. 11 to 18 show other construction pieces of different shapes and with different numbers of balls and sockets. The central web part of each of those shown in FIGS. 11 to 15 may be plain or apertured as well as including one or more sockets. The plain ones may be used by the child as a holder for an inserted item, particularly a card insert bearing a legend or symbol, a textured material insert such as cork, rubber or cloth, or e.g. a mirror insert, the shape of the insert being matched to that of the piece and the size being such as to enable a press fit. Circular pieces which may be attached by ball and socket connection to a structure built up from a plurality of playing pieces of the type illustrated are shown in FIGS. 16 and 17 while FIG. 18 shows a wheel which carries a head for insertion into a socket component. 

1. A toy construction system including a plurality of pieces which may be interlinked one with another by way of ball and socket joints as defined above, at least some of the pieces being generally flat and having both ball and socket connection components around their periphery, and comprising a matching socket component located substantially centrally of the piece; wherein the distance of the centre of rotation of the ball within the socket from the edges of the pieces is no less than half the thickness of the piece, and wherein the socket component in the centre of the piece has a surrounding wall which is relieved to enable an inserted piece to rotate about an axis in the plane of the piece into which it is inserted.
 2. A system according to claim 1 wherein at least some of the pieces are square and the ball and socket connection components are located substantially halfway along the sides.
 3. canceled
 4. A system according to claim 1 wherein the distance is slightly greater than half the thickness of the piece whereby, when the ball of one piece is inserted into the socket in the centre of another piece, the inserted piece may rotate about an axis in the plane of the piece into which it is inserted.
 5. canceled
 6. A system according to claim 1 wherein the amount of rotation is 5° to 15°.
 7. A system according to claim 1 wherein the ball-receiving socket located substantially centrally is configured to receive a ball-receiving socket from another piece.
 8. A system according to claim 1 wherein the socket components are formed of two facing tabs having concave depressions in their facing surfaces, to receive the ball components, and a flat surface on their outer sides.
 9. A system according to claim 8 wherein the tabs are relieved to facilitate the introduction of a ball between them.
 10. A system according to claim 1 and including at least some of rods, wheels, base plates and wall plates in addition to the pieces with a substantially centrally located socket component.
 11. A system according to claim 1 and including pieces of overall oblong, triangular, circular or polygonal shape.
 12. A system according to claim 1 wherein the pieces are made of a resilient plastics material.
 13. A system according to claim 1 wherein the ball connection components comprise a generally spherical head set on a post projecting from a construction piece and relieved about a circular equatorial region lying in a plane perpendicular to the direction of extension of the post.
 14. A system according to claim 1 wherein at least some of the socket connection components comprise a pair of spaced apart tabs extending in parallel planes from a construction piece and having part-spherical depressions in their facing surfaces. 